Canucks' affiliate an early litmus test for Heat, hot-shot Baertschi

VANCOUVER — It took Troy Ward longer to describe the jaw-dropping goal than it did for Sven Baertschi to pull the trigger.

While the Abbotsford Heat coach has focused on the collective effort needed to defeat the visiting Chicago Wolves this weekend in an AHL doubleheader, he couldn’t help but look back to last Saturday and a sparkling individual effort when Baertschi bagged the winning goal in a 6-2 rout of the Peoria Rivermen.

“He took a one-timer off the back of his heel on a power play and beat the goalie short side,” Ward recalled Thursday. “It was a beamer and it from way outside the [faceoff] dot on the half boards. He took the puck in an awkward spot, but he has such good hands and such a natural shooting release. A lot of people didn’t even react. In went in and out so fast, you just go: ‘Holy smokes.’

“He kind of took the puck flat-footed and wasn’t really set, but just buried the thing. You know he’s special when he can do that. People say to me, why have you compared him to [Jaromir] Jagr? He’s always doodling with the puck and thinking of something new and his brain is always active. We just worked on shootouts and I don’t know if he did the same move twice. He’s always willing to learn and with that type of outlook on things, you’re just going to climb higher.”

Then again, it shouldn’t be surprising that Baertschi has two goals and four points to help pace the Heat to a 2-0 start. The best may yet come from the 13th overall pick in the 2011 entry draft because the prized Calgary Flames prospect was an exceptional pupil at the WHL level. The Swiss winger had 33 goals and 94 WHL points in 47 games with Portland last season — followed by 14 goals and 34 points in 22 playoff games — as the Winterhawks nearly advanced to the Memorial Cup.

“His habits are exceptional and after practice he worked on having pucks passed to him at full speed and he’d tried to pick them off his stick and feet — all the little tricks — over and over again,” said Winterhawks coach Mike Johnston.

When Ward aligned Baertschi with Ben Walter and Dustin Sylvester last weekend, he found a trio that will have to produce against the 3-0 Heat. The Vancouver Canucks farm club is getting outstanding goaltending from Eddie Lack and Matt Climie and with Zack Kassian, Jordan Schroeder, Anton Rodin, Andrew Ebbett, Chris Tanev and Kevin Connauton in the lineup, the heat is going to be on the Heat. Ward knows he’s going to see a good crop of opposition forwards and a front-line stopper in both games.

That’s where Walter’s ability to guide the 20-year-old Baertschi on and off the ice is imperative. At 28 and with 500 AHL games on his resume, the centre can not only tell Baertschi what to expect this weekend, the son of Heat president Ryan Walter can also provide his linemate with time and space needed to score more highlight-reel goals. Walter has scored twice while Sylvester has a goal and three assists which in encouraging because the Heat didn’t have a player in top 20 scoring last season.

“Sven has benefitted from finding his vision and hands on the power play and that translated into good 5-on-5 play, but the catalyst on that line was a very intelligent and methodical Ben Walter,” stressed Ward. “He’s getting those guys the puck in good position.”

And their heads in the right frame of mind, too.

“It’s absolutely critical,” added Ward. “With the development in today’s game and new-millenium players, you need some old-school guys around who are really good pros. It’s one of the most critical components of development.”

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